Cowgill Family

Our coat of arms as shown above can be found in the Reistap Armorial General. Heraldic artists of old developed their own unique language to describe individual Coats of Arms. In their own language, the Arms is as follows: "De gu. au lion d'arg. souenu d'un tertre de sin. etenent entre ses pates u coe d'un refle, d'or." When translated the Arms description is: "Red, a silver lion standing on green ground holding between the paws a cone, one gold clover above." Above the shield and helmet is the Crest which is described as: "Le lion, iss." A translation of the Crest is:" The lion issuing"

As some accounts are told the founder of the American Cowgill family Margret Ellen Stackhouse was born in 1636, Giggleswick, Yorkshire, England. Ellen married Ralph Cowgill in 1656. No other records of Ralph are found except that he died before 1682.

The widow Ellen and her five children were Quakers and arrived in the New World in 1682. They are mentioned in the introduction of William Penn's Colony - Volumn 1 Passengers and Ships. The middle son Ralph arrived on the ship "Friends Adventure". Ellen her four other children, her brother Thomas Stackhouse and his wife Margery arrived on the ship "Lamb of Liverpool" in late 1682.

Ellen died in 1705, Middletown Township,Bucks Co, PA. Naturalization records indicate that no other Cowgills arrived in this country.

Our entire family tree all the way back to Margaret Ellen Stackhouse and beyond is published on Ancestry.com